


Behind the Scenes: Paradoxa - The Mercenary

by NyeLung



Series: Paradoxaverse [7]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Gen, Jedi Philosophy, Little bit of Fluff, Mace's foul mouth, Time Travel, lots of swearing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-27
Updated: 2018-06-23
Packaged: 2018-10-11 18:27:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,221
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10471284
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NyeLung/pseuds/NyeLung
Summary: It was a normal day for Mace Windu until a man stepped out of the shadows, ran like the ancient Sith had awoken and were hunting him, so that he topples over a little youngling. Mace is left to comfort her.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Accompanying piece to [Chapter 4 of Paradoxa - The Mercenary](http://archiveofourown.org/works/9252515/chapters/23105073) and other chapters of The Mercenary as soon as I write them^^

## Behind the Scenes: Paradoxa - The Mercenary - Chapter 4

### 44 BBY, Coruscant, Jedi Temple

Mace heaved a little sigh and turned away from the gym of the younglings. He'd only been here in the first place because a certain Master of his still thought he should try his hand at teaching a Padawan. Of course, there hadn't been any to catch his eye, any that felt special. He just wasn't cut out to teach a Padawan. Instead he concentrated on the security of the Temple as was his job for a few months now. It was fulfilling and he felt far more useful to the Order than he would be when teaching a Padawan.

He took a deep breath and let the life and light of the Temple fill him. It was a place of peace and although he missed regular missions, he didn't regret staying. This was his home and he was proud to defend it, he thought while passing more of the younglings' training area. He recognized a few of them from competitions where younglings looked for Masters. He hadn't taken in anyone so far.

A sudden disturbance in the Force interrupted his contemplations and made him look up to see a man literally stepping out of the shadows and how the fuck was that even possible? Mace halted his thoughts because he'd painstakingly been taught not to curse or cuss or even use a swear word but this was a situation that called for it. The hells just happened?

The man was rushing in his direction, looking neither left nor right. He seemed to run from something and that made Mace's skin crawl because the Temple was safe. No grown man should run here from something unless he was an enemy. Who the kriffing fuck was he anyway? He was powerful and Mace would have noticed him had he seen him before. Damn, that guy could shroud himself in the Force so that no one saw him without actively looking and that was some karking hard to learn skill especially in that kind of perfection.

Mace had been too surprised by the sudden appearance of the man – and where in all the Corellian Hells had he gotten that many scars? - that he only noticed the little youngling standing in the man's way now. She had excelled in lightsaber duels and that had made him think about her for a moment but there was something about her that just didn't fit. That still didn't mean that he wanted her to be run over by a mysterious intruder who seemed to flee from some horror unimaginable.

He tried to stop the man – and maybe hold him and get some fucking answers – but was too slow. The man didn't even notice that he left a toppled youngling in his way. For a short moment Mace wanted to run after him and catch him. On the other hand he should take a look if the youngling was alright. She had been hit pretty hard.

Mace helped her up and took a look at her, searching for injuries in the Force. There were none. Nonetheless she was shaking as if in shock. That karking intruder had been pretty damn terrible to sense. So much turmoil in the Force and he had just run her over. He could have at least apologized. Mace suppressed a laugh about the scandalized voice that sounded suspiciously like his Master teaching him etiquette. 

Sithspitting fuck. He had no idea who or what the intruder was and instead of following and catching him, he sat on the floor with a quivering youngling in his arms. She was clearly upset and was trying to deal with it but that kriffing bastard had been so twisted with so many wild emotions it must have shaken her balance too far to do it on her own.

Mace grabbed his comlink while hugging the youngling tightly. She may no longer be part of the crèche but at the moment she needed the security of a Master protecting her from that maelstrom of wild emotions. It took a lot of effort on Mace's part not to go on cussing and remembering his whole repertoire of swear words. It wouldn't be helpful now. Instead he barked orders into the comlink to be on the lookout for a scarred male, mid-forties who had intruded into the Temple.

He didn't get his hopes up. That kriffing man had stepped out of the Force's shadows and although Mace could still sense him if he concentrated hard on him, he could barely feel him. He suppressed a sigh and hugged the youngling tighter to whisper nonsensical words in her ear to calm her down. She might be ten or eleven years old but such an incident could be more than just unsettling and feeling her still shake and shiver, Mace really wanted to get a private few hours with that fucking intruder. Maybe teach him a few lessons. And get some fucking answers.

Tachi, that was the name if Mace remembered correctly. He had little to do with younglings but she _had_ been very impressive with a saber and that had been enough that he at least wanted to get her name. Siri Tachi. Mace stroked her back and felt how she clung to his presence in the Force, his barely projected calmness, how her breathing became more regular again.

Mace forced himself to calm down. Now was not the time for anger and cursing. The man was gone as far as he could tell – and he would take fucking proper measures to make sure the man stayed gone. He would also try to figure out his identity. There had to be something. Maybe Tholme knew and that was a knew training regimen for his shadows. If it was, he would hear a few of Mace's thoughts on the matter.

At last the youngling was calm and balanced again and she was able to stand alone and not want to cling to him any longer. Mace gave her a last tentative pat on the shoulder and watched her scamper back to the younlings' quarters. He let a small smile cross his face and then returned to the stern expression he usually wore.

It had been good, though, to care for only one individual for a moment. He hadn't realized how heavy the burden of the Temple's security had weighed him down. Maybe Master T'ra had been right and a Padawan would do him good. He looked back to where Siri was hugged by a redheaded human girl. He had seen them train together although they were a few years apart. The redhead was just as good as Siri and maybe he should gather informations about her.

For now, though, he had to think about how to secure the Temple against another intrusion by that mysterious kriffing sithspitting bastard who had obviously mastered the Force in a way that was dangerous for the Order.


	2. Behind the Scenes - Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Garen Tachi left Siri and Garen behind. Their reaction.

## Behind the scenes - Chapter 7

### 44 BBY, Coruscant

Siri just stood and watched when the stranger left. The name he had given them was probably fake but why he would use a name that fit her and Garen she didn't know.

As soon as he was gone, however, she could move again. With practiced ease she pulled out an analyzer. He had lost a lot of blood - she had seen the remnants of a nosebleed in his face and there was blood on the ground where he had knelt. He felt familiar to her and maybe his blood would hold an answer.

"Did you also have the feeling to know him?", Garen asked.

"Only when I felt him in the Force." Concentrated, Siri tried to get as much blood sampled as possible.

Master Rhara and Master Gallia arrived soon after and it took a lot of explaining but when they heard the name Arren Rak at least Master Gallia reacted. Siri wondered what that was about.

 

"That's the name he gave?", Mace asked after the two younglings had recounted their experience. "He called himself Garen Tachi?"

"We thought it strange, too," Siri Tachi admitted. "Maybe he just wanted to show off that he knew even our names?

Mace had thought about that but didn't think it very likely.

"He said something else, though," Garen Muln chimed in. "He said we should ask about Arren Rak and the Lost. What did he mean by that?"

Mace's mind stopped dead in its thinking. "Are you sure he said exactly that?" No one should know about that.

"Absolutely sure, Master. Who is Arren Rak?"

Mace sighed inwardly. He wasn't at liberty to discuss this with younglings. "Someone who doesn't exist and certainly someone no outsider should know about." Arren Rak was a deep cover identity that was only just growing. Only a few Masters in the Temple knew about the existence of these deep cover identities and even fewer knew which one were currently in development. Whoever this Garen Tachi was, he knew secrets of the Order not even most of the Order knew.

"And what about the Lost?"

"Ask your Masters about that," Mace answered curtly. Something clicked. "He is sending a message."

"What kind of message?" Siri Tachi cocked her head questioningly.

Mace considered telling them for a moment. But these were secrets of the Order not fit for younglings. For some reason, however, they were connected to this Garen Tachi, not alone because of the name. "Whatever I now tell you, you will never share with anyone. You will not talk about this after you leave the room, not even with each other or me. Unless you meet this Garen Tachi again, you will ignore his existence. Do you understand?"

They nodded in unison.

"Arren Rak is one of a few deep cover identities that the Order maintains for Shadows to use whenever necessary. Whoever you met, he is probably a Shadow to know about these things. Bringing up the Lost - Jedi who have left the Order - can only mean that he also left the Order." Mace sighed inwardly. "That makes him dangerous, so stay away should you ever cross paths with him again."

"He left the Order?" Tachi and Muln looked at him in horror.

Mace understood their feelings. Walking away from the Order was anathema. Becoming a wanderer or joining another enclave was frowned upon but in the end nothing worth mentioning. Falling to the dark side was still somehow understandable albeit a tragic occurrence whenever it happened. Just leaving, however, was something different. It meant leaving behind one's identity, giving up what you were to become nothing. At least falling to the dark side meant that you were still adhering to a code. A dark code but a code nonetheless. Leaving ... it was different. "That's why he is dangerous."

"W-we understand, Master Windu."

"That's good. Now, you mentioned that you collected some of his blood. I would ask you to deliver it to Tahl in the healer's wing and ask her to run a test on the owner's identity."

 

Expectantly, Mace waited next to Tahl for the results of the blood test of this self proclaimed Garen Tachi. He still didn't know how he knew about Arren Rak. Mace would have to know him and when they nearly bumped into each other last week, he didn't recognize the man.

"I don't believe it," Tahl breathed when the results finally came in.

"What?", he asked, his patience having been worn thin by the mystery of Garen Tachi.

"That's Obi-Wan's DNA," Tahl began, her voice betraying her puzzlement. "But the analysis places this blood with a forty-year-old adult."

"Obi-Wan?" Mace didn't know every Jedi by name, the younger they were, the less he knew them.

"Qui-Gon's new Padawan. Obi-Wan Kenobi? Didn't you read their report from Bandomeer about Xanatos?" Tahl was checking the DNA again. "They are currently on mission on Gala where they are supervising the elections."

Mace frowned. "The name rings a bell now. Are you sure that the DNA isn't just belonging to a relative? Maybe a father?"

"They are identical. They'd have to be clones."

Mace was starting to run a hole in the ground. "A clone? No one's ever heard of Force sensitive clones that didn't go mad. And who is this Garen Tachi and why would he clone himself?"

"Only the Force knows, Mace." 

Tahl sighed. When Mace started to work on a problem, it was unlikely that he would stop anytime soon.

"He was here in the Temple and I could only barely feel him in the Force. Do you think he knows Kinas-shielding?"

Tahl hadn't thought of that. "Then his teacher would have to remember him."

"Exactly." Mace was already halfway out of the door. "Get Tachi and Muln here. I want them to get me a picture of his face. Send it to the CSK and the SID. I want him found. He left the Order, so he's dangerous, maybe even more dangerous than Xanatos considering all his knowledge."

"Mace, I think you are mistaking me with an assistant," Tahl answered slightly amused although he didn't hear her any longer since he had already left the room in a hurry. She was sure that he was calling together the Council for a special session about Garen Tachi.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Headcanons about what it means to leave the Jedi have been inspired by the great Ouroboros-series and more importantly by Queen's Gambit. It's a great story, so look it up when you have the time.  
> Kinas-shielding is also just a name I picked up somewhere in fandom in different places and I sincerely have no idea who came up with it in the first place. If you know, please tell me.

**Author's Note:**

> Headcanon that Mace Windu is a fabulous hugger. And this scene is the reason why he takes on so many more Padawans although none of them is quite right. The redheaded girl is Devan For'deschel, his first Padawan.


End file.
